Abstract The contribution deals with the cultural relations between Cyrenaica, Cyprus and Ancient Palestine in the Hellenistic-Roman period, focusing on the reflections in monumental contexts. The decisive initial phase of the long... more
Abstract
The contribution deals with the cultural relations between Cyrenaica, Cyprus and Ancient Palestine in the Hellenistic-Roman period, focusing on the reflections in monumental contexts. The decisive initial phase of the long process of interactions, which will continue to have profound effects in the Roman era, hinged on the Lagid kingdom and its policy of influences, which were direct in the Ptolemaic possessions of the Eastern Mediterranean, with early outcomes even from the ideological aspect, and indirect and/or mediated in the other territories, but equally enduring and incisive. Among the various fields that well exemplify the monumental reflections of Alexandria’s relations with Cyrenaica, Cyprus and
Ancient Palestine, and of the three countries with each other, that of funerary architecture and particularly mausoleums is investigated. The topic is centered in the Kato Paphos Necropolis in Cyprus, where as early as 2014 the Italian Mission recognized ‘Tomb 8’ as the island’s first mausoleum, a grandiose three-storeys Ptolemaic monument, of which a great many architectural elements remain that were found during excavations in 1979-1982.
Il contributo illustra alcuni aspetti dei rapporti culturali tra Cirenaica, Cipro e Antica Palestina in età ellenistico-romana, concentrando l’attenzione sui riflessi nei contesti monumentali. La determinante fase iniziale del lungo processo di interazioni, che continuerà a produrre effetti profondi in età romana, è imperniata nel regno lagide e nella sua politica di influenze,
che furono dirette nei possedimenti tolemaici del Mediterraneo orientale, con esiti precoci anche sotto l’aspetto ideologico, e indirette e/o mediate negli altri territori, ma ugualmente durature e incisive. Tra i vari campi che ben esemplificano i riflessi monumentali dei rapporti di Alessandria d’Egitto con la Cirenaica, Cipro e l’Antica Palestina, e dei tre paesi tra loro,
viene indagato quello dell’architettura funeraria e in particolare dei mausolei. L’argomento viene incentrato nella Necropoli di Kato Paphos a Cipro, dove già nel 2014 la Missione Archeologica Italiana a Cipro ha riconosciuto nella ‘Tomba 8’ il primo mausoleo dell’isola, un grandioso monumento tolemaico a tre piani, dei quali restano moltissimi elementi
architettonici ritrovati durante gli scavi del 1979-1982.
The contribution deals with the cultural relations between Cyrenaica, Cyprus and Ancient Palestine in the Hellenistic-Roman period, focusing on the reflections in monumental contexts. The decisive initial phase of the long process of interactions, which will continue to have profound effects in the Roman era, hinged on the Lagid kingdom and its policy of influences, which were direct in the Ptolemaic possessions of the Eastern Mediterranean, with early outcomes even from the ideological aspect, and indirect and/or mediated in the other territories, but equally enduring and incisive. Among the various fields that well exemplify the monumental reflections of Alexandria’s relations with Cyrenaica, Cyprus and
Ancient Palestine, and of the three countries with each other, that of funerary architecture and particularly mausoleums is investigated. The topic is centered in the Kato Paphos Necropolis in Cyprus, where as early as 2014 the Italian Mission recognized ‘Tomb 8’ as the island’s first mausoleum, a grandiose three-storeys Ptolemaic monument, of which a great many architectural elements remain that were found during excavations in 1979-1982.
Il contributo illustra alcuni aspetti dei rapporti culturali tra Cirenaica, Cipro e Antica Palestina in età ellenistico-romana, concentrando l’attenzione sui riflessi nei contesti monumentali. La determinante fase iniziale del lungo processo di interazioni, che continuerà a produrre effetti profondi in età romana, è imperniata nel regno lagide e nella sua politica di influenze,
che furono dirette nei possedimenti tolemaici del Mediterraneo orientale, con esiti precoci anche sotto l’aspetto ideologico, e indirette e/o mediate negli altri territori, ma ugualmente durature e incisive. Tra i vari campi che ben esemplificano i riflessi monumentali dei rapporti di Alessandria d’Egitto con la Cirenaica, Cipro e l’Antica Palestina, e dei tre paesi tra loro,
viene indagato quello dell’architettura funeraria e in particolare dei mausolei. L’argomento viene incentrato nella Necropoli di Kato Paphos a Cipro, dove già nel 2014 la Missione Archeologica Italiana a Cipro ha riconosciuto nella ‘Tomba 8’ il primo mausoleo dell’isola, un grandioso monumento tolemaico a tre piani, dei quali restano moltissimi elementi
architettonici ritrovati durante gli scavi del 1979-1982.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Ptolemaica. For a ‘rereading’ of the monuments of Cyrene at the time of the Euergetes Ptolemy III and Ptolemy VIII · The historical-political context of Cyrene around the mid-3rd century BC highlights the central role played by Ptolemy... more
Ptolemaica. For a ‘rereading’ of the monuments of Cyrene at the time of the Euergetes Ptolemy
III and Ptolemy VIII · The historical-political context of Cyrene around the mid-3rd century BC highlights
the central role played by Ptolemy III Euergetes I and especially by his wife Berenice II, daughter of King Magas, formerly Basilissa of Cyrene, in the building activity in the city. Although the interventions that involved the main urban sectors of the polis were numerous and important, there are, however, four most representative exempla, even if architecturally less conspicuous, which require in-depth examination.
The first is represented by the Naval Monument erected in the Agora. A new reading of this monument is possible thanks to the identification of Isis Euploia in the statue that surmounts the bow, and of Arsinoe II in the busts of Isis-Io that decorate it on two sides. This interpretation enhances the specific commemorative meaning of this artwork. As a matter of fact, it was an integral part of a broad political programme of dynastic legitimacy promoted in Cyrene by the two kings Euergetes. The monument was aimed at glorifying the naval power of the Lagides and the victory of the First Syriac War by the Philadelphoi. At the same time, the triumph of Ptolemy III in the Third Syriac War was indirectly celebrated. Moreover, the eusebeia of Berenice II toward the deified adoptive mother Arsinoe II was clearly revealed to the inhabitants of the city.
The so-called “Relief of Aphrodite”, part of a naiskos by the Ipetral Temple of Demetra and Kore in the Agora, is another piece of evidence of the deification of Arsinoe, there identified with the representation of the goddess Aphrodite, as attested by conspicuous elements. Therefore, the new queen of Egypt, Berenice II, was once again
indirectly celebrated through a highly refined political operation.
The “Myrtle Enclosure” represents the third monument to look at. It was in the heart of the Sanctuary of Apollo and stood as a ‘memory’ of the ierogamia between Apollo and the Nymph Cyrene. Moreover, it alluded allegorically to the marriage of the Theoi Euergetai Ptolemy III and Berenice II via a propagandistic reading of the
myths of the foundation of the polis. The reference to the mythical events was boosted by a punctual
recall of the pedimental decoration of the Temple of Apollo, as attested also by the figured freeze of the Portland Vase.
Finally, the Circular Tomb N1, raised in a scenic position in the Northern Necropolis, represents a further decisive testimony to the dynastic ideology promoted by the two kings and particularly by the Basilissa. Around the mid-3rd century BC, it presumably constituted the first act of the political strategy of Lagids at Cyrene. In addition to the exceptional value of its funerary equipment, the marble statue originally placed on the top of the roof is significant.
Thanks to its style, it can be recognised as a prototype of the Isis Euploia of the Naval Monument. This and other elements of particular importance allow us to attribute the tomb to the deified King Magas, whose cult is attested in Cyrene inscriptions. Furthermore, we can interpret the erection of the tomb as the first relevant stage of the political legitimacy programme promoted by Ptolemy III and above all by Berenice II. In fact, the
political personality and action of the Basilissa were suited also to satisfy the demands of the Cyrenaican
oligarchy, whose consensus was of crucial importance for the new kings and their propaganda.
Another Euergetes, Ptolemy VIII, reigning over Cyrene in the second half of the 2nd century BC, left a decisive mark for the subsequent development of the polis. Euergetes II started an intense urban planning activity and realized monumental enterprises of the main Alexandrian tradition. Among them, the erection of the great Gymnasium-Ptolemaion ranks among the most magnificent architectural works of this kind created in the Mediterranean metropolises under or in connection with the Lagid power. The outstanding monument represents the new political centre of the city, the seat of the economic transactions, and, above all, the ideal centre of the cult of the sovereign, as attested by its Roman transformation into the Caesareum (Augustan Age)
and then the Forum (Flavian Age) of Cyrene. Moreover, Euergetes II converted the most ancient (and first of the polis, dated to the end of the 7th-beginning of the 6th centuries BC) Sanctuary of Isis on the Acropolis in the Sanctuary of Isis and Serapis. This was another monumental intervention of ‘international’ scope, according to a
Mediterranean-wide and well-known dynastic ideology. The Sanctuary was topographically and ritually linked to the Temple of Isis in the Sanctuary of Apollo on the Myrtousa (last quarter of the 4th century BC), erected by the city oligarchy.
Therefore the two Euergetes, Ptolemy III and Ptolemy VIII, promoted decisively the diffusion of the cult of the kings and were strongly involved in the historical, political, and cultural environment of the first Greek colony of Libya. Their project led to the formation of a ‘network’, afterward become a koinè, that during the Hellenistic period embraced the Central-Eastern Mediterranean, without neglecting, on the one hand, the original contribution made by the Cyrenaican cultural scene to Alexandrian art and architecture itself and, on the
other, the prolific legacy that the Ptolemies left to the Roman world.
III and Ptolemy VIII · The historical-political context of Cyrene around the mid-3rd century BC highlights
the central role played by Ptolemy III Euergetes I and especially by his wife Berenice II, daughter of King Magas, formerly Basilissa of Cyrene, in the building activity in the city. Although the interventions that involved the main urban sectors of the polis were numerous and important, there are, however, four most representative exempla, even if architecturally less conspicuous, which require in-depth examination.
The first is represented by the Naval Monument erected in the Agora. A new reading of this monument is possible thanks to the identification of Isis Euploia in the statue that surmounts the bow, and of Arsinoe II in the busts of Isis-Io that decorate it on two sides. This interpretation enhances the specific commemorative meaning of this artwork. As a matter of fact, it was an integral part of a broad political programme of dynastic legitimacy promoted in Cyrene by the two kings Euergetes. The monument was aimed at glorifying the naval power of the Lagides and the victory of the First Syriac War by the Philadelphoi. At the same time, the triumph of Ptolemy III in the Third Syriac War was indirectly celebrated. Moreover, the eusebeia of Berenice II toward the deified adoptive mother Arsinoe II was clearly revealed to the inhabitants of the city.
The so-called “Relief of Aphrodite”, part of a naiskos by the Ipetral Temple of Demetra and Kore in the Agora, is another piece of evidence of the deification of Arsinoe, there identified with the representation of the goddess Aphrodite, as attested by conspicuous elements. Therefore, the new queen of Egypt, Berenice II, was once again
indirectly celebrated through a highly refined political operation.
The “Myrtle Enclosure” represents the third monument to look at. It was in the heart of the Sanctuary of Apollo and stood as a ‘memory’ of the ierogamia between Apollo and the Nymph Cyrene. Moreover, it alluded allegorically to the marriage of the Theoi Euergetai Ptolemy III and Berenice II via a propagandistic reading of the
myths of the foundation of the polis. The reference to the mythical events was boosted by a punctual
recall of the pedimental decoration of the Temple of Apollo, as attested also by the figured freeze of the Portland Vase.
Finally, the Circular Tomb N1, raised in a scenic position in the Northern Necropolis, represents a further decisive testimony to the dynastic ideology promoted by the two kings and particularly by the Basilissa. Around the mid-3rd century BC, it presumably constituted the first act of the political strategy of Lagids at Cyrene. In addition to the exceptional value of its funerary equipment, the marble statue originally placed on the top of the roof is significant.
Thanks to its style, it can be recognised as a prototype of the Isis Euploia of the Naval Monument. This and other elements of particular importance allow us to attribute the tomb to the deified King Magas, whose cult is attested in Cyrene inscriptions. Furthermore, we can interpret the erection of the tomb as the first relevant stage of the political legitimacy programme promoted by Ptolemy III and above all by Berenice II. In fact, the
political personality and action of the Basilissa were suited also to satisfy the demands of the Cyrenaican
oligarchy, whose consensus was of crucial importance for the new kings and their propaganda.
Another Euergetes, Ptolemy VIII, reigning over Cyrene in the second half of the 2nd century BC, left a decisive mark for the subsequent development of the polis. Euergetes II started an intense urban planning activity and realized monumental enterprises of the main Alexandrian tradition. Among them, the erection of the great Gymnasium-Ptolemaion ranks among the most magnificent architectural works of this kind created in the Mediterranean metropolises under or in connection with the Lagid power. The outstanding monument represents the new political centre of the city, the seat of the economic transactions, and, above all, the ideal centre of the cult of the sovereign, as attested by its Roman transformation into the Caesareum (Augustan Age)
and then the Forum (Flavian Age) of Cyrene. Moreover, Euergetes II converted the most ancient (and first of the polis, dated to the end of the 7th-beginning of the 6th centuries BC) Sanctuary of Isis on the Acropolis in the Sanctuary of Isis and Serapis. This was another monumental intervention of ‘international’ scope, according to a
Mediterranean-wide and well-known dynastic ideology. The Sanctuary was topographically and ritually linked to the Temple of Isis in the Sanctuary of Apollo on the Myrtousa (last quarter of the 4th century BC), erected by the city oligarchy.
Therefore the two Euergetes, Ptolemy III and Ptolemy VIII, promoted decisively the diffusion of the cult of the kings and were strongly involved in the historical, political, and cultural environment of the first Greek colony of Libya. Their project led to the formation of a ‘network’, afterward become a koinè, that during the Hellenistic period embraced the Central-Eastern Mediterranean, without neglecting, on the one hand, the original contribution made by the Cyrenaican cultural scene to Alexandrian art and architecture itself and, on the
other, the prolific legacy that the Ptolemies left to the Roman world.
Research Interests:
During the Greek period the Cyrenean Sanctuary of Apollo Pizius has been expanding to the E (Garden of Aphrodite), to the S (Spring Terrace, previously external to the temenos) and to the W (Alsos of Apollo and Theatre). During the age of... more
During the Greek period the Cyrenean Sanctuary of Apollo Pizius has been expanding to the E (Garden of Aphrodite), to the S (Spring Terrace, previously external to the temenos) and to the W (Alsos of Apollo and Theatre). During the age of Battiades a unitary project took place in order to monumentalize the sacred area on the model of the Panhellenic sanctuaries of Olympia, Delphi and Delos. With the fall of the monarchy, works of urban impact were realized with the aim of delimiting and rationally organizing the sacred space. In this phase, the lower strata of the
community gain power, emphasizing cults previously not documented by monumental remains. In the 4th century BC the temenos reaches his final limits, but with a gradual loss of the previous organicity, due to the construction of new sacred, celebratory and utilitarian buildings, which reflect the new needs of the ruling class. In the Hellenistic period, the structure of the sanctuary underwent radical transformations, with a multiplication of the monuments linked to the further increase in the political significance of the cult of Apollo, connected with the post-Alexandrian dynastic ideology, according to a polycentric conception of cultural activities that will
characterize the complex until the end of his life.
community gain power, emphasizing cults previously not documented by monumental remains. In the 4th century BC the temenos reaches his final limits, but with a gradual loss of the previous organicity, due to the construction of new sacred, celebratory and utilitarian buildings, which reflect the new needs of the ruling class. In the Hellenistic period, the structure of the sanctuary underwent radical transformations, with a multiplication of the monuments linked to the further increase in the political significance of the cult of Apollo, connected with the post-Alexandrian dynastic ideology, according to a polycentric conception of cultural activities that will
characterize the complex until the end of his life.
Research Interests:
This contribution is aimed at illustrating one of the goals of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Cyrene of the University of Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’, namely the recontextualization of the Cyrene and Cyrenaic sculptures kept by the... more
This contribution is aimed at illustrating one of the goals of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Cyrene of the
University of Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’, namely the recontextualization of the Cyrene and Cyrenaic sculptures
kept by the British Museum in London. The creation of this relevant group of sculptures derives from explorations
and excavations conducted around in the mid-19th century by British officers R. Murdoch Smith and E.A. Porcher,
during the great nineteenth-century projects for the foundation and expansion of the main European archaeological
museums. At the same time, this season represent a key moment in the history of the archaeology of Cyrenaica,
having constituted one of the most significant impulses for the discovery of the antiquities of the region and in particular
of Cyrene. An in-depth archival research, combined with the analysis of the artefacts, represent the basis for
placing the works brought to the British Museum in relation with their provenance and with further sculptures kept
in Cyrene, so as to be able to reconstruct their historical-archaeological context.
University of Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’, namely the recontextualization of the Cyrene and Cyrenaic sculptures
kept by the British Museum in London. The creation of this relevant group of sculptures derives from explorations
and excavations conducted around in the mid-19th century by British officers R. Murdoch Smith and E.A. Porcher,
during the great nineteenth-century projects for the foundation and expansion of the main European archaeological
museums. At the same time, this season represent a key moment in the history of the archaeology of Cyrenaica,
having constituted one of the most significant impulses for the discovery of the antiquities of the region and in particular
of Cyrene. An in-depth archival research, combined with the analysis of the artefacts, represent the basis for
placing the works brought to the British Museum in relation with their provenance and with further sculptures kept
in Cyrene, so as to be able to reconstruct their historical-archaeological context.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Humanities and Art
... Particolare dell'intarsio marmoreo (opus sedile)... more
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